


Texture

by whitqvixlin



Series: Arcana Oneshots [2]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23445040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitqvixlin/pseuds/whitqvixlin
Summary: Muriel and Acele finally have a chance to relax in the palace bath and talk.
Relationships: Apprentice & Muriel (The Arcana), Apprentice/Muriel (The Arcana)
Series: Arcana Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688341
Kudos: 18





	Texture

**Author's Note:**

> this sucks so yeah  
> acele's my mc, made specifically for muriel's route :')  
> wow that summary sucks a-

Silk envelopes Acele's shoulders as she pulls her soft, lilac bathrobe on. It slides easily over her bare skin. She tries to relax, looking at herself in the mirror to distract her mind from the fact that Lucio could arrive and crash the masquerade at any time.  
The fabric on her robe makes no effort to conceal her upper body, and the thought of Muriel seeing her like this makes her grin. She imagines his heavy blush, stammering and stuttering like there's something stuck in his throat. Just thinking about him makes her feel happy.

As though he had read her mind, she hears a soft click in the room outside hers. She quickly ties the flimsy robe strings around her waist, and steps out into the bathroom herself. Immediately, he catches her eye.  
His jet black hair is done up, exactly how it looked when Morga tied it, and his light blue robe is tied securely above his hip, his chest completely uncovered. It practically shines, every tiny hair catching a sliver of glorious evening light.

_Uh.._

Acele feels her face heating up. He still doesn't notice her, looking into the bath quizzically. Her throat tightens, begging for her to say something.  
"Muriel?"  
He turns, surprised, and his face goes red. They share a moment of silence. His gaze wanders down, and suddenly, his hands shoot up to cover his face.  
"I'm sorry Acele, I shouldn't be here, I'll be outside-" He lowers his arms to walk to the door, looking down in shame. She makes a dash over to him and stretches her arms to cover the door before he can leave. He towers over her, but stops dead in his tracks, startled. She takes advantage of his hesitation, grabbing his large hands and holding them together so he's forced to look her straight in the eyes.  
"No, you will be in here, with me, having a bath. Come on."  
He blushes even harder as she pulls him to the bath, an infectious smile on her plump lips. He can't help but want to be around her all the time, but he wasn't sure that's what she would want.

Acele slips into the bath, and immediately feels the tension in her shoulders disappear. She beams back at Muriel, inviting him in. He breaks his gaze as soon as she turns to him, and cautiously dips a toe into the warm water.  
"It's safe?" He enquires, and Acele nods, eyebrow raised.  
After a few seconds of Muriel being overly skeptical, he finally steps in with a splash. She laughs, launching a well-aimed flick of water at him.  
He stares at her for a few moments, water dripping off of his face.  
  
"Ah-" She starts thinking that she's offended him, and is about to apologize when he splashes back, smiling. It's practically a tidal wave hitting her from the side.  
She launches back again, and the battle begins. Muriel's splashes are much larger, and more powerful, but Acele's able to attack more often, sneaking around behind him to take him by surprise. While they're attacking each other with splashes of water, rose petals flying everywhere, she catch glances of his face, his genuine smile and laughter.  
A stab of sadness hits her as she realizes she's never seen him like this, ever. She enjoys the moment, but it passes as quickly as it came.

Muriel rests his back on the edge of the giant bath, sighing, and Acele eyes the wine bottles on the opposite side. She starts wading towards them, but after a few seconds of painstakingly slow walking she decides to just swim.  
Muriel notices her swimming to the other side of the bath, and starts thinking he did something, anything to make her upset.. "Is something wrong?" He starts to stand, and Acele raise an arm to calm him.  
"Relax, I'm just getting a drink!" She chuckles, raising the bottle and winking at him. As she turns back to the selection of wines before her, she feels immensely grateful to Nadia, and how she's been spoiling the two since they arrived. Eyeing the labels with intense scrutiny, she finally picks one that had been recommended to her not too long ago.

She wades back to Muriel, holding the bottle carefully above her head to keep it dry. "Would you like a drink, love?"  
He blushes again at her sweet words, and shakes his head.  
"N-no thank you." He stammers, water still dripping from his body. She catches her gaze lingering on his muscles and quickly tears her attention back to the wine. She spots the glass, all the way on the opposite side of the bath, clearly forgotten in her mad rush to get a drink. She sighs, shrugs, then pops off the cork, sitting so her legs are dangling in the warm water.  
"Are you going to drink it like that?"  
Acele nods, then tips her head back to drink straight from the bottle. She doesn't drink too much, though, she decides to save her consciousness for the masquerade.

After she finishes around a quarter of the bottle, she notices Muriel rubbing his neck, wincing. She smiles faintly, and puts down the bottle with a soft clink. Swinging her legs over the side of the bath, she places a hand on his shoulder, fingertips skimming over a long, faded scar. He shrinks under her touch, shivering when she touches a scar or sensitive point.  
Acele carefully shuffles over to position herself behind him, legs folded, hands on his shoulders.  
"What are you doing?" Muriel turns to look at her, confused.  
She starts softly kneading his shoulders, applying a gentle pressure where he must have used to carry great loads. His muscles only tense, though.  
"Acele? What is this?"  
She rolls her eyes.  
"It's a massage, silly, it's supposed to relieve aching muscles."  
Muriel mutters a soft 'oh.', and doesn't bother her about it.  
Acele cups her hands in the water, then brings it up between Muriel's shoulders. The water falls from her hands like a waterfall, and melts away all the pent-up frustrations and fears.  
She takes the opportunity to put a spell of purity on the water. She raises her hands to his shoulders again, kneading, slowly working down to his upper back. She pushes gently between his shoulder blades, earning a small sigh from him, then makes small circles all around his back. She repeats this until she feels he could probably fall asleep.

"Acele, I... I really don't deserve this, deserve you." Muriel mumbles, head hanging.  
She wraps her arms around his shoulders, head resting in the crook of his neck.  
"But you do! Why wouldn't you deserve me?"  
He shrugs. "You're too kind, I don't deserve to be treated this way." He mumbles the last few words, yet Acele doesn't give up.  
"You're the kindest, strongest, most handsome person I've ever met." His face goes red at the last part. "If that doesn't mean you deserve me, I don't know what would."  
He stays silent, and reaches up to hold her hand. Out of nowhere, he feels a drop on his shoulder. He turns to Acele to see a single tear rolling down her right cheek. All words escape him in this situation, he's never had to comfort a crying person before.  
  
"S-sorry, should I have said something? I was going to-"  
She places a soft, loving kiss on his lips, the weak taste of wine lingering.  
"You know I love you, right? I love you so much I can't lose you, I.." She presses her forehead against his, tears still coming.  
Muriel falters, then finally gives Acele a small peck on the cheek, making her laugh.  
"Aw, that was adorable!" She chuckles, making Muriel stutter. "W-well, I haven't kissed anyone aside from you, I don't know how to do it right.."  
She sighs and holds his chin up with her hand, tears still fiinding their way down her cheeks.

Their mouths interlock, and she nibbles softly on his bottom lip, sending chills up his spine. She applies a little more pressure, and runs her hands down his arms. He pulls her closer instinctively. When they break away, she smiles.  
"That is how you do it right."  
Muriel takes in a deep breath, face as red as a chilli. How many times he's blushed today, she can't count.  
  
"Alright, shall we get dressed love? I'm sure you'll look stunning."


End file.
